musical ablity loudness

can be too loud

Thanks to these reviews I decided to take a chance on the hsu vf2. Boy , am I glad I did. Lighting blew my 15inch sub
the insurance company wanted to give me a klipsch but I said send me the money and i will pay the extra for the hsu.
I am so happy with it. This sub is very musical comapared to my former one note wonder. I was worried that I would give up fealling the bass when I switched from a 15 with a 250 watt amp. but this baby moves some air. It turned my couch into a vibrating chair. The claity and definition is supurb. I love the way I can feal the bass start behind me and move out into the room does great for ht but is best for music. Warning!!! when I orderd, I asked Dr Hsu if he thought about at 12incher. He said that they have tested and are almost ready to sell the vf3 [ 12 inch 250 watt] in acouple mounths. so if you really wnt to break windows wiat for the vf3 probly aruond 700 to 800$

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audiosorce sw15

Clean, tight, low bass. Great Value

Manual? A couple of pieces of paper done on a pc. Cheap guys! Shiny, pebbly finish is not for everyone

I don't claim to be an expert, but I try to do my research and auditioning before buying my audio equipment. With a family, I can't go out and buy the best, so I have to look for value in my price range. I was checking out some of the usual consumer brands in my price range and really wasn't happy with any of them. Then I read a review in Sound and Vision magazine about subs for $500 by a renowned "bass person". He raved about the HSU! So I decided to give it a try, but not after visiting the HSU website and asking a few questions, which were answered promptly. I have not been disappointed. Music, movies, everything sounds better. I have knocked pictures off the wall. It seems to work great with my Onkyo receiver and JBL speakers. For a typical home theater setup, I don't think the HSU can be beat. Great value for $500.

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Auditioned: JBL, Boston, Infinity, Energy, Velodyne

everything promised

none ,looks are not an issue with me for a sub

I enjoy the bottom this sub pumps out. I feel money spent was worth it. music is clear and defined, movies have oompf!! had contact twice with manufacturer and was impressed with there answers and expertise. highly reccomend this sub....bravo

Loud, deep, and clean. More depth vs. More volume adjustable

Slight wake-up delay

Cranked up my B&K AVR 307 with "The Haunting" DVD just to hear how the sub handles the deep bass presented on the DTS DVD. I had the sub's volume set too high initially, and the VTF literally shook everything in the room. After a little fine tuning, and placing a small rug between my hardwood floors and the sub I was able to discover just how deep bass is supposed to feel and sound. The AVR 307 has a setup feature that allows you to send various frequencies to the sub to help optimize placement. Although the sub has a better impact when placed near the listener, I found very acceptable performace by placing my VTF2 in the front of the room near my TV.

I have used the sub to listen to music and I believe the tonal quality is superior to my 1988 model M&K which has both a larger driver and more powerful amp. I mainly use the sub for my Home Theater where it's use is directed more toward sound effects and explosions. A good example of how well the sub performs is during U571 (DTS DVD) when the depth chargers are dropped in the water. The audio editing is perfect to see how well the sub reacts to low quiet explosions - during the first few depth charger blasts, compared to the much more powerful blasts of the last few depth charges. It's worth turning the primary speakers off to hear the difference in the sub's performance. You won't hear just one note at various volumes, you will hear this sub's amazing range of depth and volume.

After investing a lot of money into my HDTV Home Theater, I thought I would have to settle for an average sub in the < $1,000 range until I could afford something better. I can honestly say this sub at $475 is by far the best value (performance for the money) of everything I bought for my system. I have no need or desire to upgrade.

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M&K

Flat response to 25Hz, cool looking finish, wife-factor

Can be really difficult to find the right spot to place it

After too many hours of moving it around the room, and breaking it in a little, my patience has finally paid dividends. This sub really puts me in the middle of movies and music. Movies like Dragonheart (DTS), U-571, and Super Speedway really shake the couch now. I went out and bought the Celine Dion CD that Alan refers to in his review to see what he is talking about--he's right folks. About 3:30 into "All By Myself", all hell breaks loose, and I've only got the volume between 1 and 1.5. It's not bass you can really hear, only feel.

I have found that Max Extension mode (one port plugged) serves my room best. I will admit, however, that I do need to spend some more time getting the volume just so. A little more break-in time may help in that department.
My old Infinity BU-120 wasn't as particular of placement, but it did give me alot of port noise and amplifier hum. The Infinity isn't a tenth of the sub the VTF-2 is either. The Hsu, on the other hand, gives little to no port noise and the amp is quiet, although I did have to buy a ground-cheater plug to quiet the amplifier. Hsu Reasearch is apparently aware of this humming and specifies in the manual that floating the ground on the cord is acceptable.

I see alot of people making recommendations for SVS, Titan and other subs on this website. If price is more of an object (as it was with me since we just bought a new house), the Hsu VTF-2 is a great sub at least half the price of the alternatives.

Thanks

Todd

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None

Great clean and very DEEEEEP bass. Nice compact design with small footprint. One of the best subwoofers I have ever heard!

NONE.. NADA...

I was shopping for a performance subwoofer and I just couldn't find one that made me feel comfortable spending all that $cash$. I have been very happy with my Ascend CBM-170 mains but felt I could use the deep bass provided by a good sub.

I had heard of Hsu Research before and when I received an email from Ascend Acoustics that they would be offering the Hsu VTF-2 direct from their site... well... I was so pleased about my previous purchase from Ascend that I trusted their recommendation.

Well, they were 110% right. I ordered my Hsu and received it within 7 days. Fantastic subwoofer!!! Blends perfectly with my mains... Delivers very deep bass which IS MORE FELT THAN HEARD, which should be true of deep bass.

I tested this unit againts my friends M&K V-125 which costs much more and the Hsu kicks its a.. The Hsu is very musical and capable of great impact when need be.

I am very happy with this purchase and I recommend this sub to everyone. Thank you Ascend Acoustics and Hsu Research for a wonderful offering!

Equipment:
Ascend CBM-170 mains
Hsu VTF-2 Subwoofer
Marantz CD6000 OSE
Marantz amp&pre-amp

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M&K, Velodyne, Sunfire

I am currently auditioning this subwoofer at my home. I have a very large listening area that opens up into another room. My main speakers are Mirage OM-6. These speakers sound great but when it comes to home theater the subwoofer portion does not have the depth or volume impact so you feel the movie. I was in need of a dedicated subwoofer. Enter the VTF-2, I tried the VTF-2 in various locations but could only get the "you are there" feeling when it was placed close behind my listening position. It is fairly quick with music and appears to work for HT but because of my large listening area I dont want to have buyers remorse, so I will also be auditioning the Infinity HPS-1000 . Overall I am very satisfied with the VTF-2 and at the price it is a very good purchase and definitely the way to go for anyone whose room size is not extremely large.

Tight, acurrate bass. non-directionality (at least way more than one can expect at this pricepoint) in the bass

little at this price point

This is an amazing subwoofer. It will fill medium or small size room with deep tight bass. One should take the time to audition different places in the room before making a final placement. Even though the VTF-2 is able to create a thunderous atmosphere, do not expect to have your heart stopped. If you are expecting something analagous to the boomy cars one hears driving down the street, forget it, sometimes you may not even know that it's on. It is always there when it count, and that is what is important

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paradigm, sunfire, b&w

Deep authoritative bass

I LIKE IT! For those concerned about the auto cutoff, I believe it has been adjusted. Mine seems to take about 20-25 minutes to shut down. Enjoy.

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Velodyne VA-8100X

Tight, clean bass with good extension to 25 Hz

No documentation of auto off

Far superior to the JBL 12 " subwoofer that this replaced. Probably one of the happiest days was when this speaker blew and gave me a good reason to replace it. Equally impressive in home theater setting and with music (e.g. Victor Wooten of the Flecktones, Edgar Meyer on acoustic bass). It's like I'm hearing the music for the first time. Dr. Hsu is extremely helpful and responsive to inquiries and the unit comes with a nice a CD of organ music and list of music and movies to show off the speaker's capabilities.